Caring For
by generationloki
Summary: Tony never really cared about anyone before. In fact, he had never cared for someone as much as he did for a boy that he had barely said two words to before that day. So that is why it came as a surprise that Thor's brother would be the first person that Tony would care about. A Frostiron high-school AU, in which Tony saves Loki from some bullies and it goes largely unappreciated.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, guys, this is my first fanfic ever! So be nice please :3**

**It's a Frostiron high school AU and I am planning about 4 chapters, but it could be more if I find time and inspiration.**

**Thanks for taking your time to read it :)**

**(Sorry about any spelling and grammar mistakes)**

Tony Stark had never really cared about anyone before. Well, excepting himself, of course. But aside from having friends whom he did care for, he had never _cared_ for someone as much as he did for a boy that he had barely said two words to before that day.

Tony has seen him around, sure. He was Thor Odinson's little brother; it was inevitable that they would meet, as Tony and Thor had been friends for over five years, since Thor and his family had moved from England. He'd seen him holed up in his room or hunched over a book or painting, but had never thought twice about him. Thor constantly nattered on about how his little brother was "a genius, friend Anthony, the best in our year".

So that is why it came as a surprise that Thor's brother would be the first person that Tony would care about.

It had all started on a Tuesday at lunchtime at Marvel High. It was ordinary enough, Clint and Natasha sneaking off under the pretence of "gymnastics training" which was code for making out in the school car park; Bruce claiming he had science club which, again, he tried to convince Tony to attend with him (pfft- like Tony needed to go to that; he already suffered through his ludicrously easy AP science classes) and Thor and Steve having football practise. And- as usual- Tony was left on his own during a Tuesday lunch.

Tony didn't mind- he liked walking around the school grounds and eyeing the female specimen.

And that was exactly what he had been doing when his romantic (or less sentimental like) interests flipped dramatically.

He had been eyeing one Pepper Potts- a professional-looking girl in his year always in pencil skirts and high heels like she didn't know she was hot enough- when he heard the familiar sounds of a fight in the corridor adjacent to his. Tony, being Tony, sauntered over to investigate.

Sure enough, there was a crowd of students that were screaming out, "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" repeatedly but astonishingly moved aside for Tony to get to the front to spy what was going on.

A boy- was boy a correct term? He looked the same age as Tony- was encircled by the bullies of Marvel. Thanos cracked his large knuckles on a meaty fist and Amora cackled menacingly, flicking her blonde hair out of her face. The boy had long black hair falling out of his long ponytail and spilling onto his wide but thin shoulders. He was sporting a large woollen, black eye and a split lip already when it was only 5 minutes into lunch. The boy wore a ratty emerald-green hoodie over a plain black t-shirt and skinny black jeans with tall Doc Martens. A backpack was being tossed around the crowd, paintbrushes, music sheets and novels were strewn over the ground. Despite his pitiful state, the boy still held up thin hands in a defensive position even though he looked like he was about to keel over.

Tony's face morphed into one of anguish- he had been in that boy's position many times before. He so badly wanted to help, but he knew he would not be able to hold his own against the bullies.

Thanos advanced and swung a fist in the boy's direction but all it connected with was thin air. He growled and spun to see the boy on the other side of him.

"Coward!" Thanos shouted and shoved the boy sprawling onto the hard ground. The boy yelled in pain as his elbows connected with the hard floor but did not cry. Tony respected that, knowing that crying would only make things worse.

Amora lifted him up and threw him harshly at Thanos who kicked the boy in the stomach. The boy folded over, clutching his stomach.

"Ready to give up, _freak_?" Amora shrieked, throwing her head back and laughing.

"_Freak! Loner!_" Some people in the crowd hollered before being shut up by Tony's intimidating glare.

"Do you yield?" Thanos hissed at the boy.

The boy shook his head and mumbled something before his hair was grabbed and yanked upwards by Thanos. The boy whined and tried lifting his hands to his scalp but it was obvious that he had not recovered from the blow to the stomach.

"What was that?" Thanos growled. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, you emo."

"I said 'I'll never relinquish you fucker'," the boy rasped, his voice toon quiet to discern. He puckered up his lips and spat dark blood into Thanos' face.

There was a collective gasp among the crowd and then it was silent. Thanos screwed up his face and snarled.

"Oh, you'll pay for that, faggot," Thanos cried. The boy flinched, but held his ground. Thanos roughly grabbed his shoulders and wrenched open a nearby locker door. The boy groaned, apparently knowing what was to come.

Amora chuckled and grabbed onto the boy's ankles before heaving the boy into the locker. It was a wonder he could fit, but seeing the boy's protruding ribs under his shirt that had rode up, it was pretty self-explanatory. The boy shouted but the door was slammed shut and the lock snapped shut.

The boy pounded at the door and cried out but the crowd's whooping and cheering drowned his frustrated screams out.

Tony had had enough. He stepped forward to Thanos, puffing out his chest. "Thanos! Take him out of there," he barked.

The crowd _ooooo_'d in unison at the sudden heroism of the genius Tony Stark who was notoriously known for his selfishness.

Thanos whipped around to him and grinned, his bright eyes twinkling. "Or what, _little_ _Stark_? Will you tell your daddy on me?" Thanos mocked.

Tony wiped after Thanos' spit from his harsh words from his cheek and flicked it onto the ground showily. "No, but Fury will," Tony said, pointing behind Thanos.

Immediately, Thanos and Amora turned but were meet with no intimidating man with an eye patch. Tony took that moment to strike. He leaped at Thanos' back and pinned him to the ground, shoving his face into the floor harshly and pulling back an arm.

"Will _you_ yield, Thanny?" Tony sneered through gritted teeth. He was fully aware of the silence of the crowd excepting the boy still thrashing in the locker.

Thanos growled but whined when Tony pushed his head into the ground harder. Amora watched on, a hand covering her mouth. "Fine! Let me _go,_ Stark," Thanos hissed.

Tony made sure Thanos was not going to retaliate before letting him up. Thanos took one look at Tony after he carefully stood up before grabbing Amora by her upper arm and making his way through the stunned group.

"Well?" Tony snarled at them all, spinning around to look at them properly. "What are you all standing here for? It's lunch, don't you have better things to do?"

Immediately, the group dispersed in all directions until all that was left was Tony in the empty corridor, the boy's belongings still covered the floor.

**Please Review :)**

**And we'll see more of Loki in the next chapter which has been written and may be submitted anywhere between tomorrow and Wednesday.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, so I got to update earlier than I thought :D**

**This chapter is mostly dialogue, I hope you guys don't mind.**

**And I finished writing the whole story, so the chapters should be updated daily until it's finished :) I'm not sure how I liked how it turned out though :S**

Tony jumped when he heard a pitiful voice float out of the locker. "Please? Is someone there? Please let me out," the boy whimpered. "Please," he whispered, the end tapering off to a harsh sobbing.

Tony dashed over to the locker and pressed his ear to the door, cracking the code of the lock. He opened the door and the boy inside lifted his hands to shield his eyes from the bright light. After a moment of hissing, the boy lowered his arms, but did not look Tony in the eye.

Tony stood, evaluating the suddenly strikingly familiar boy. "Wait- Loki?" He gasped.

Loki's bright emerald green eyes flicked up at that remark and he seemed to curl into himself before breaking eye contact self-consciously. "What do you want, Stark? Come to mock me?" His British accent made the miserable-sounding remark sound cutting. So it was Thor's little brother.

"Wha-? N-no! I-"

"Then what," Loki looked at him and Tony felt his heart stop beating as he saw those eyes again, "do you want?"

Tony pursed his lips. "I-I just wanted to see if you were okay."

Loki sneered. "Well, as you can see, I am fine," Tony smirked at Loki's battered state which was met with a scathing glare, "apart from you obliviously blocking my path and heightening my claustrophobia of course."

Tony's eyes snapped up from where they were trailing down Loki's lean body and hastily stepped aside. "Oh yeah, sorry, man."

Loki narrowed his eyes before unfurling as much as he could along the floor of the cramped locker and slid out into the corridor. His legs straightened as he stood and Tony swore his legs went on and on and on forever. Tony then realised he was staring again and looked up at Loki who was leaning on the lockers, trying to breathe without pain.

His jacket's hood was partially torn off and blood spattered his sleeves and jacket as well as flecks spotting his chin and lips. He had one arm wrapped around his torso tightly, as if reining his ribs in. And yet he still managed to look gorgeous.

Loki then opened his previously squeezed-shut eyes and lowered them to the ground where his possessions were bestrewn along the floor. He groaned softly, allowing himself to sink to the ground, his spidery hands aiming toward an exercise book. He started crawling around on the ground, picking up music sheets, photographs and torn pieces of novels.

Tony squatted beside him and began picking things up.

"What are you doing, Stark?" Loki ground out while piecing together a textbook. "Come to sabotage my work?"

"Helping you, Severus. I am helping you." Tony gave Loki a lop-sided grin, disappointed when he just got a blank stare in return.

"Severus," Loki muttered, shaking his head.

"What? Not a fan of Harry Potter?"

Loki's frown deepened when he flashed the cover of one of his well-worn and now ruined novels at Tony briefly.

"Ah- of course you are. I suspect you have read them a few times? I enjoyed them myself- well the movies at least. I never have the patience for books as much as I do for my machines. Hey, you know how I'm building an AI? I've nearly perfected him; I just need to work out the kinks like how to stop him speaking random Spanish at me. Do you know Spanish? Pah- who am I kidding? I know you do. I've been told about a billion times. Thor won't stop talking about you; he says you're already fluent in French, Spanish and Korean! That's brilliant. You must be pretty darn intelligent. Well, not compared to me, but I am-"

"Gods! Do you ever shut up?" Loki snarled, stuffing paper into his bag displaying the action as some kind of threat.

Tony's spine straightened and he sarcastically locked his lips together with an invisible key. Loki rolled his perfect eyes.

At the awkward silence of them cleaning up, Tony studied him carefully. His cheekbones were high-positioned and incredibly sharp; his nose straight but dripping blood at a steady pace and lips red. His eyes though, Tony could not get over them. They were an intoxicating green, and the shadows around them made them pop. His legs were spidery and long, the jeans were worn through at the knees, exposing pale skin.

Tony's eyes swept Loki's thin arms toward his pianist fingers, the tips of which were covered with brush strokes of red, blue and yellow around his painted black nails. His mind was instantly filled with the image of those nails raking his back as they made kinky love in the janitor's closet. Tony frowned, trying to keep it in his pants.

"So…" Tony said.

Loki sighed. "What now?" He had started stacking his papers into, which seemed futile as his nose would not stop dribbling blood everywhere. He wiped at his face, smearing crimson over a hollow cheek.

"You having a good year so far?"

Loki barked a laugh, and, although it was bitter, it made Tony's heart flutter. "Oh, yes. Can't you see how much fun I'm having?" He snarled, waving papers in the air.

"Geez, just asking, Mr Grumpy," Tony muttered, stacking up a pile of papers.

Loki sighed. "Look, Stark. I am sorry that you had the compulsive need to 'save' me from those bone-headed buffoons, but as you now know, I am not the most wonderful person to hang out with. So if you are going to help me," he spat the word 'help', "then you are going to have to put up with my venomous attitude."

Tony shrugged and continued shuffling random papers. Suddenly, Loki loomed over him, snatching the papers away.

"Oh, hurry up, will you?" Loki snapped, shoving the papers into his overflowing bag.

"What's with the big attitude problem, Loki? I helped you out-"

"I didn't ask to be-"

"I don't give a shit, you needed help. I wanted to help!" Tony shouted.

Loki flinched and then his face hardened. "Why?"

Tony's expression slackened. "Huh? Why? Because you were getting pummelled that's why. I wanted to help the kid getting bullied into the ground, even though I didn't know who they were, no one deserves to get bullied. But now that I've realised that it was you, my friend's baby brother and I've met you properly, maybe I'm beginning to regret it." Tony was fuming, how could he have even been attracted to the guy in the first place? He was an arrogant asshole. Just like Tony.

But maybe that was what was so interesting about Loki. He was on a similar level to the genius.

"That is not what I meant, Stark," Loki seethed. "Why are you helping me? Why are you still here? You've never spoken word to me before, choosing to ignore me and now that you've met me and decided that you don't like me-"

"When did I ever say I didn't like you? I admit, you're an asshole, but I never said I don't like you. Maybe I'm still here because I find you interesting?"

Loki sniggered, self-deprecatingly. "Interesting? That's… a strange way to describe me. So all you want to do is find out more about me then?"

Tony's eyebrows quirked. "Um… yes?"

Loki smirked. "Well, tough luck, Stark. I do not wish to be known. Do not bother me again, and under no circumstances, try to 'save' me. I can take care of myself, thank you very much."

"Ha, yeah, I can see that, Shakespeare."

Loki scowled ferociously before seizing his backpack and stalking off. Tony looked him up and done before obnoxiously commenting, "You know for Thor's little brother, you sure are a skinny one."

Loki froze and slowly turned on his heel. "I am not just Thor's little brother," he hissed witheringly behind huffing and flouncing the rest of the way through the hall.

Tony didn't even pretend not be staring at Loki's behind. It was strange, Tony had never been attracted to men before, let alone a grasshopper-like bastard, but there was something about Loki that made Tony's loins stir.

It was obvious that Tony would not be able to leave the newly established Odinson alone.

**Thanks for reading! :) See you hopefully tomorrow.**

**I hope you had a great Easter and are having a good April Fools if that's possible :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry about any spelling mistakes!**

**Thanks to all for the faves, follows and reviews :3**

For the next few weeks, Tony started noticing Loki around more and more. He didn't even realise he was in almost all of his classes. Tony tried everything to get close to Loki, from sitting next to him in class and lunch to trying to talk to him before and after school. But every attempt failed, as Loki ignored him, plugging in his headphones and getting out a book to read.

But what Tony also started to notice was the small upturn of Loki's mouth when Tony made a rude comment about the bullies or the teachers or Loki's eye twinkling when he complained that Loki scored higher than him on a test or project. Thor also informed him of Loki's inquiring after him if he was late to school and missed a few classes. So it meant that it was working.

Loki was starting to care for him too.

Tony started to realise why he was developing feelings for Loki. _What wasn't there to like, anyway?_ He was always committed to his work, contributing in class when asked, and Tony liked him for being so intelligent. When Loki wasn't busy ignoring Tony, he spoke about people in the most crude but humorous ways, which made Tony laugh far too much.

He also liked the way he licked his lips constantly, moistening them as if he knew that Tony was attracted and was enticing him on purpose. He loved the way Loki held himself—almost regally and he radiated confidence in the presence of Tony whereas he would curl in on himself when he felt threatened. Tony also liked the fact that Loki made him feel felt that it was his job to protect him. That Loki was _his_ Loki to look after.

Also the fact that Loki was the sexiest human being Tony has ever laid eyes on, contributing to his rapidly growing crush.

Tony's friends did complain about his disappearances during lunch, all except for Thor who constantly praised him on trying to befriend his brother.

"He does not wish to show it, friend Anthony, but he values your companionship greatly," he boomed before school one day.

"Yeah, thanks, buddy. And it's Tony, not 'friend Anthony'," Tony replied, smiling.

"Of course, Anthony!" Thor beamed. "Loki has not had a friend since year 9, before—" he stopped and looked a bit forlorn before lighting up again. "Never mind that, it is in the past. But you are a wonderful friend!"

Thor then proceeded to noogie Tony until Clint and Steve saved him from brain damage.

Steve wasn't as keen on Tony's new friendship.

"It's great that you're deciding to be friends with him, but…"

"But…? Come on, Stevie, you're not worried about him stealing me, are you?" Tony shot him a crooked grin while pouring chemicals into a jar in chemistry. _Or was it biology?_ The tedious science classes all blended into one in Tony's mind. He felt he was way beyond them already.

"No!" Steve said hurriedly, a blush rising on his neck. "No, it's not that at all. It's kind of clear that you want more than a friendship with Thor's brother anyway…"

"SH! Keep it down, will you?" Tony hissed. "How did you know?" He said a decibel quieter.

"It's kind of obvious, Tony," Steve whispered back. "I mean, you follow him around like he's some kind of god. And you glare at anyone that so much as looks at him." Tony shrugged, knowing it was true, but was too stubborn to voice his confirmation. "Anyway, Loki, well, he just seems like trouble."

"Trouble?!"

"Well, yeah. He's always being pushed around and I wouldn't want you getting involved and being victimised along with him. But other than that, he doesn't seem to be a very good friend."

"Stevie, you wound me. And how, pray tell, does he not seem like a good friend? He doesn't even talk to me."

"Don't call me that," Steve berated. "But that's just it; he's ignoring you, and always glares at you when your back is turned—"

"That's because he's suspicious, okay? He's never had a friend before! I need to show him that he can get friends, and, frankly, I think it would benefit him if you guys came and sat with us, you know?"

Steve snorted and ripped off his protective glasses, folding up his lab coat. "Why would we want to sit with him? He's taking you away from us!"

"Aha! So you _are_ jealous, Stevie-boy."

"Y-no! Gah, Tony, look I'm just worried about you. Please, just don't get too attached to him?"

Tony rolled his eyes and shrugged, mimicking his previous action, not wanting to promise anything he knew he could not keep.

The bullies hadn't made a prominent appearance since the inhumane bashing of Loki, and almost all evidence of it had disappeared from Loki's face by the second week.

It all went to hell about a month after that Tuesday.

Loki and Tony were sitting together at lunch, Loki pointedly ignoring Tony's babbling as usual, reading _King Lear_, when Thanos and Amora slithered up to them under the shade of the tree they were sitting under.

"Hey, Stark," Thanos snarled.

Loki tensed beside Tony, gripped the book. Tony looked up with a smug grin, his protectiveness over Loki rearing up but not letting it show. "Hey, Thanny."

Amora scoffed. "If you were smart you'd back down, Stark."

Tony's grin grew wider and he whipped off his sunglasses. "Oh, I never back down from a challenge." He felt Loki shift uncomfortably from beside him. "And you know far too well that I am smart, smarter than both of you ten times over, in fact."

Amora snarled but Thanos stopped her from attacking. "Good," Thanos snapped. "Meet us at the car park after school, the one beside the football oval. Don't be late; we still have some things to put right. And by put right I mean my fist with your face." Tony looked confused at the comment.

"Um…? That kinda didn't make any sense at all, man."

Thanos' eye twitched but he remained stoic. With that, Thanos turned on his heel and stalked away, Amora following loyally behind him, smirking conceitedly.

Loki's eyes flicked toward Tony before switching back quickly when he looked up.

"Yeah, yeah, Shakespeare, I saw ya," Tony muttered, running a hand through his hair. His confidence was deflating. No doubt Thanos, Amora and more of their thug friends would be there to bash him into a pulp. Tony groaned and lay back in the grass, closing his eyes. "On the one night when all my friends are busy, I get challenged to a fight. This sucks!" Tony thrust a fist to the grass, ripping it up.

Loki closed his book before putting it down beside him, sighing.

Tony's eyebrow quirked up and he smiled. "Ah, paying attention to me now that I've been threatened, ay?"

Loki shook his head minutely and scraped his hair back from his face into a ponytail, scowling intensely at the ground in front of him, but did not reply.

Tony rolled his eyes and stared up at the sky, wondering what the hell he was going to do.

"I do not think you should go, Stark," Loki said, quietly.

Tony sat up. "Er, I don't know if you were listening, Lokes, but I kinda have no choice."

"Yes, you do, Tony," Loki hissed and Tony flinched. "I am warning you, I will never forgive you if you go."

"Hey," Tony said. "You called me Tony!" He grinned.

Loki sneered and shut his book.

When the bell rang after school, Tony's heart launched into his throat. He slowly packed up his English books and let them fall into his backpack, while swinging it onto his shoulder. Loki's gaze jerked toward him from the back of the class before grabbing his own bag and following Tony out to the lockers. Loki disappeared around the corner like usual without a goodbye.

Steve's words echoed in Tony's mind that Loki wasn't a loyal friend and Tony seethed, knuckling his stinging eyes. Loki was not worth the shit he was about to put up with. Even if he was the first boy he had ever crushed on, and the first person he had ever crushed on this hard. Tony cursed himself for letting him get that close to Loki.

Tony's fingers were shaking as he worked the combination of his lock on the locker door. His mind was a blur as he worked out what homework he had, but ended up forgoing it entirely, thinking that he'd probably be in the hospital that night anyway.

Tony shouldered his bag, realising that the corridor was empty. The locker door shut, metallically echoing through the hall, sealing his doom.

Tony spied his lonesome car in the parking lot along the football field where he could see the two familiar blonde heads of Thor and Steve bobbing up and down together as they jogged around the field, warming down after their training.

Tony licked his lips nervously, feeling barely-there stubble on his lips that was an attempt to grow a van dyke. He jingled his keys in his pocket before sprinting toward his car, about to throw about the front door when a familiar brawny hand slammed onto the window, preventing him.

"Oh, dear, running away now, are we, Stark?" Thanos breathed into his ear.

Tony gulped nervously, squeezing shut his eyes and counting to three before turning slowly around to see Thanos and his group of followers; Amora, Von Doom, Modock, Osbourne and a few other unnamed goons grinning evilly. He let out a shattered giggle.

"Well, this is hardly fair is it, Thanny? I mean one, two, three… _seven_ against one? Even if that one is a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist."

Thanos pinned him at arms length by Tony's shoulders against the side of the car. "You humiliated me in front of the entire year level, now you'll pay, little Stark."

"Uh, I don't appreciate being called 'little', buddy," Tony tried to assert himself, but sounded petty instead.

He froze when he realised his mistake.

Thanos growled and raised a fist, Tony flinching when a very familiar voice shakily shouted out, "H-hey! Get away from him! Puh-please! Let him go."

Tony opened one eye and peered out into the distance to a very recognizable lean but tall figure. _Oh, Jesus, Loki_.

**Reviews are greatly appreciated! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hope you enjoy this!**

Even though Tony was thankful that he would not have to fight his battle alone, he was horrified that Loki was here. Loki would surely be targeted.

"Loki…" Tony groaned. "Get out of here."

Loki straightened up clenching shaking fists by his sides. "No, I won't leave you. This is my entire fault, Tony. Thanos, l-leave him alone."

Thanos chuckled, his goons following suit. Thanos slowed released his grip on Tony's jacket, letting him slide to the ground. Tony was too stunned to move. Thanos' eyes zeroed in on Loki, like a lion sizing up his prey. "Oh, hiya. Come back for more, _faggot_?"

Loki stiffened. "Don't call me that, Thanos," he mumbled, looking away.

Thanos tipped an ear toward him mockingly. "Sorry, call you what, faggot?"

Loki looked up, fire burning in his eyes. "_Don't fucking call me that you dick_!" He screamed, stalking up to Thanos. "Stop pushing me around, I haven't done anything to you, so why don't you leave us the fuck alone!" He raised his fists and pushed Thanos away, sending him onto the ground harshly. Thanos hissed and clutched his elbow.

"What the-?"

Loki smiled tauntingly. "You didn't think I was here to beg, did you?" He kicked Thanos savagely in the stomach. Tony whooped.

"Yeah, Loki!" He hollered, punching the air.

Loki sent him a withering glare. "I _told_ you not to come, Stark!" He bellowed.

The colour drained from Tony's face. "I, err—"

Tony didn't have time to answer before Loki was tackled to the ground from behind by one of Thanos' goons and pinned to the ground with a sickening pop echoing. Loki groaned and struggled in their grip. "Get the fuck off me!" He commanded.

Thanos got up gingerly, snarling at Loki. "You little shit," he said. Thanos clutched his elbow, which was darkening with blood. "I'll make you pay for that!" Tony darted forward but was cut off by Amora and Von Doom who restrained and held him up against the side of his car.

"Let him up," Thanos instructed the goon, whom immediately let go of Loki. Loki tried to get to his feet, but was let down by his left arm, which was hanging loosely from its socket. Loki clasped it against his torso and set his jaw. Tony gagged at the sight.

"Going to actually fight me fairly, are you, Thanos?" Loki jeered.

Thanos bared his teeth and spun to his friends. "Do not interfere, and keep Stark away." They nodded, looking confused and Amora and Von Doom tightened their grip on Tony. "If that's how you want it, queer. Your brother isn't here to protect you now."

Loki narrowed his eyes. "Bring it on," he said, still managing to look intimidating with his arm out of action. "I don't need my brother. I can beat you with one arm."

Thanos cackled and leapt at Loki whom sidestepped just in time but was yanked down to the ground with Thanos. Tony tried to escape but it was futile. Fists were flying as Thanos and Loki tumbled on the ground, grunts of pain occasionally arising from them. Loki got in a few punches instead of taking them and Thanos cried out. Soon, as predicted, Thanos got the upper hand due to Loki's impediment. Thanos got on top of Loki, knees weighing down Loki's arms. Loki's nose was crooked, suggesting a fracture and Tony grimaced. Loki gnashed his teeth.

"Get off me, you brute!" He snarled.

Thanos was panting heavily and his eyes blackening. "Where'd you learn to fight so quickly?"

"None of your business," Loki ground out.

Thanos tutted. "No use standing up to me now, Lokes. You're in—" Thanos didn't finish his sentence as Loki bucked, forcing Thanos off Loki's stomach. They leapt up again and threw their arms at each other, grabbing collars and clawing faces. Tony caught fragments of sentences, "—bastard", "give up", "arsehole", "faggot", "swine". Thanos' friends watched on with smug faces, believing that their beloved leader would win the fight like all the others. Tony rooted for Loki, who was actually putting up a good fight. Loki grabbed hold of Thanos' waist and repeatedly kneed him in the stomach, face and chin. Thanos spun out of the grip, seizing Loki's bad arm and yanking it up his back, making Loki cry out in pain.

"No-!" Tony yelled, but his protest was overtaken by another familiar yell.

"_Brother!_"

A blonde gorilla of a teen barrelled into Thanos, ripping him from his hold on Loki and landing on top of him. Loki lost his balance and fell heavily to the ground, hitting his head harshly. Tony squirmed harder until he saw Steve running over from the oval, jumping the fence and heading his way. Steve grabbed the two bullies and tossed them aside.

"Get away from him!" He shouted. Osbourne helped the two up and they quickly ran toward the back gate of the car park, disappearing onto the street, the rest following behind. "You better run, cowards!"

Tony rolled his arms and neck free of cramps from the unruly handling of him. "Thanks, man."

"You okay?" Steve sighed in relief when Tony confirmed. "Good, Thor and I ran over as soon as we could."

Thanos' yell caught their attention and they looked over to see him in a chokehold by Thor. Thor's biceps were bulging madly.

"Do you yield?" Thor roared with the might of a roll of thunder. "_Do you_?"

"Yes!" Thanos gasped out and Thor let him go.

"Do _not_ touch my brother again, do you hear me?" Thor threatened and took a step toward Thanos who scrambled away quickly.

"Yes, yes, yes!" He begged. "I promise, I won't lay a finger on him."

Thor snarled, eyes wild and hair blowing fiercely around his head. "Get out of here, callous tyrant!" Thanos nodded quickly and hobbled away after his friends.

"God, I hate bullies," Steve muttered. Tony's mouth quirked up.

Thor then turned toward his brother and his expression softened significantly. He walked over and kneeled next to Loki, who was sprawled on the ground, head resting on a bloody and rugged rock, breathing irregularly and his eyes closed. Tears ran down Thor's face mingling with his beard as he cradled his brother's head in his lap carefully.

Tony scrambled upwards and jogged over to him, sliding next to him, Steve by his side.

Loki looked awful. His face was swollen and bruised, his nose snapped to one side painfully. Blood was smudged along his hairline and dribbled out the side of his mouth. His left arm hung grotesquely from its socket, quite obviously dislocated. His right wrist was swollen a little and bruised. His legs were at awkward angles, but nothing looked broken, the only thing that looked close to being so was his right ankle, which was twisted around to the side and the toe of his Doc Marten boot bashed right in, probably from kicking Thanos.

Tony felt warm wetness on his cheeks as he looked over his crush. "Oh, god, Loki. You should have left me…" Tony whispered, putting a hand to Loki's battered face, stroking his cheek.

Loki cracked open an eyelid, startling Tony. "Yeah… and let you have all the fun," he groaned. Loki coughed wetly.

"Loki!"

"Brother, are you alright?"

"Do I look okay to you, Thor?"

Thor paused before saying, "I didn't teach you how to fight so you could initiate one yourself." _Ah, so that's where he learnt to fight._

Loki closed his eyes again in irritation. "I didn't… start it, Thor," he slurred. "But I needed… to stand up to that arsehole."

Thor nodded; Tony could tell that he was just relieved that Loki was relatively okay. "Aye, and from what I saw, brother, you held your own in that glorious brawl. I am proud of you."

Loki tried to keep his eyes open while he smiled. "Thanks, I think I did alright as well. You're a great teacher, Thor."

Thor laughed, though it was more of a boom. "I think that may be the first compliment you have given me in years, brother!"

He grimaced. "No more talking… hit my head… hurts…" His head turned to the side before he went still, his breaths evening out.

"Loki?" Thor said, tapping his face lightly.

Steve broke in, gently pulling Thor's hand down that was rasied in an attempt to slap Loki back into consciousness, "I think he might have a concussion. Thor, can you drive him to the hospital?"

Thor lifted his unconscious brother into his arms. "I will drive him home," he said determinedly. "My mother is a retired nurse, she can help."

Steve and Tony nodded, standing up. Tony wiped his eyes, trying not to cry and risk looking silly in front of his saviours. "I'll follow," he eagerly stated.

Thor quickly spun and strode over to his car that was hidden under a tree next to the oval. He lifted his brother carefully into the backseat, arranging his limbs carefully, before slamming the door shut and climbing into the front, racing out of the school gates.

Tony ran over to his car, sliding across the hood of his car and fumbling with the keys to open the door. He jumped into the car and started it up when he heard the passenger door open and close, weight dropping the car down.

"I'm coming with, Tony," Steve stated.

Tony nodded, before screeching the car after Thor's.

**2 more chapters (one is the epilogue)! :D** **Sorry about typos and what-not!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Double update XD because I love you all**

For a while, Steve was silent, listening to Tony's panicked breathing and looking at his white knuckles straining over the wheel of the car.

"Look, Tony—"

"What?" Tony snapped, eyes wildly looking out onto the road, swerving around slower vehicles.

Steve took a deep breath. "I was wrong," he whispered. After a moment of silence, Steve looked at Tony, who was frowning at the front window, so he began again. "I was wrong about Loki being an unreliable friend—"

"Yes, obviously! Jesus, Steve," Tony roughly ran a hand through his hair.

"Yes, I was." Steve hesitated before adding, "And I'm sorry, if I had known—"

"Well, you didn't. No one did. If anyone did, Loki would not be hurt right now, because he took a bashing meant for me!" Tony's voice escalated to the point where he was almost shouting.

Steve flinched. "I'm sorry, okay! I didn't know and I'll admit, I was jealous of him!"

Tony was stunned at the revelation, too stunned to reply. He had suspected Steve was jealous from their other conversations, but never actually believed it was true. The car was quiet for a while, apart from the screeching of the car's wheels as Tony turned into Thor's familiar street.

Tony slowed the car down in front of a large house that looked more like an intergalactic castle than a house. It was mostly a strange gold colour with gargoyles spotting the roof and huge double doors marking the front. Tony turned into the driveway alongside Thor's car, which had long since been run down and evacuated.

Tony keyed off the engine and sat back. He sighed and put a palm to his face. "I'm sorry, Steve. It's just been pretty stressful and—"

"Don't worry about it, Tony. I understand. I just want _you_ to understand that I'm sorry I made a bad judge of character. Loki is quite obviously a good friend, given that… well. And if you want to make that friendship something more, then by all means, go for it. You two would be perfect for each other. And l… I'd like your forgiveness for my being a jerk, if you'd give it to me."

Tony spun to Steve, a small smile on his face. "Of course, Stevie! Of course, I forgive you, man!" He drew him into an awkward manly car-hug before Steve pried him off, blushing.

Steve chuckled and looked toward the front door, illuminated by the porch light. "You ready, man?"

Tony took a deep breath and nodded. "I think—I think I'm going to tell him that I love him."

"Go get 'im," Steve grinned. Tony grinned back and got out of the car, Steve flashed him a thumbs up.

Tony ran up the steps and rang the doorbell, waiting nervously before realising that the door was open. As he entered the house, he was met with both a fairly plain entrance with no family photos and Thor's shout for Tony to come upstairs.

"Son of Stark! Come up the stairs," Thor boomed, making Tony's ears ring.

Tony took the stairs two at a time, not caring about how dramatic he seemed. Upon reaching the top, he saw Thor leaning up against the wall close to the staircase across from a wooden door that no doubt was Loki's room. His knee was jogging up and down nervously.

Tony was breathing heavily and gasped, "Hey man—"

"What are you planning to say to my brother?" Thor asked, raising his eyebrows, interrupting Tony completely.

Tony froze and rubbed the back of his neck, trying his best to look confused. "Er—"

"I believe now is a better time than ever to proclaim your feelings for him," Thor bluntly stated.

Tony looked shocked. "What feelings? How'd you figure that?"

"Do not play games with me, Stark." Thor looked at him incredulously. _Thor._

Tony shook his head and breathed a laugh. "Yeah, I suppose it is probably obvious. But I don't even know if he feels the same way."

Thor stood up and grasped his shoulders gently, shaking him. "Tony, you always miss the intense looks that he gives you. The look full of love and admiration. You miss the way he talks about you to me; he will not cease talking about you. We grew apart after the tenth year of schooling, but now you have brought us together, that is how strongly he feels about you. He wants to talk about you as much as possible. It's always, 'Tony said this' and 'Tony said that'. He is indeed infatuated with you, Son of Stark."

"But he won't even talk to me-!"

"He is a shy person, Anthony, give him some space and I am sure he will come out of his shell soon enough."

Tony took a deep breath, so, what you're saying is, I should go for it?"

Thor nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! Please, Anthony, before he loses hope in you."

Tony pondered for a few moments when a tall, lean woman with curly golden hair ducked out of the room across from the staircase. She closed the door quietly and put a finger to her lips, signalling them to be quiet.

Tony and Thor immediately straightened looking expectantly at the woman. She nodded knowingly at them. "He's asleep, but you two are welcome to go inside, as long as you're very quiet. Tony Stark, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, I'm Frigga, Thor and Loki's mother," she said, holding out a delicate hand. Tony shook it.

"How's he doing?" Tony whispered and Thor nodded anxiously.

"It could have been worse had not Thor and Steven intervened when they did, but he is in rough shape. I don't know if Loki told you this but I used to be a nurse, Anthony, so I've dressed his wounds accordingly. I will take him to the doctor's in the morning."

Thor released a breath. "I shall go in first, and see him. I am his brother after all."

Tony waved a hand. "Of course, Thor. Sure. I'll catch him after."

Thor clasped him on the shoulder giving a painful but reassuring squeeze and slipped through the door. Tony slid down the wall and sat heavily upon the ground. A few moments later, he felt someone sit next to him and he looked over to see it was Frigga.

"Oh," Tony said. "Hi, Mrs—"

"Just call me Frigga, Tony," she said gently. "How are you holding up, my dear?"

Tony felt his heart give a tug at that endearment; no one had called him something with that much love in his or her voice since his mother, who died when he was four.

"Well, I could be better," he muttered.

She rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. "He'll be okay, my Loki always pulls through." She chuckled, "Thor and Loki locked themselves in the basement every day after school for weeks, I had no idea what they were doing that made them come back upstairs so bruised. But from what Thor's told me is that Loki truly did stand up to the bullies today."

"Yeah," Tony sighed, grinning. "Yeah, he did and he did well. He's a tough cookie to crack."

Frigga paused before continuing, "thank you, Tony," she said. "He's never had a friend like you before in his life, you know. He was never a very sociable boy, always shy and quiet and lashing out at those he was intimidated by. But ever since he met you, Loki's been getting better. He talks about you a lot at home; he really does enjoy your company. Even if he doesn't show it, which I know he probably doesn't, he does appreciate your friendship."

Tony gave her a crooked smile.

It was half an hour of talking between Frigga and Tony before Thor returned. Tony stood up, wringing his hands together. "So?"

"He is still unconscious, but will awake in less than an hour or so."

"Thanks, Point Break."

Thor bobbed his head to him. "I must take my leave now, I wish you luck, Tony." Thor disappeared down the stairs, Frigga on his heels.

Tony turned back toward the door before him and pushed it open. He took a faltering step into the room before closing the door behind him, sealing in the awkward silence, punctuated by only the sound of Loki's uneven breathing.

It was clear that this was Loki's room. Dark green walls were covered with band posters and paintings, a keyboard and two guitars in the corner as well as an easel. The bookshelf was overflowing with novels and texts; some were stacked next to it neatly. The heavy dark curtains were drawn over the colossal window, giving the room a strange glow from the setting sun's rays peeking inside.

Loki looked slightly better, but that was only because his wounds were covered up. His whole left arm tucked into a sturdy but temporary-looking sling, laid across his stomach and his right wrist was wrapped in light gauze, laid out next to him delicately. His purpled nose had been straightened out and some kind of brace was placed on his face to keep it straight. He was dressed in long, soft, green pyjamas, some bandages partially shown on the chest, wrapping around his torso. Loki's right foot was densely bandaged up and elevated on a square black pillow, the toes invisible beneath the thick gauze.

Tony quickly pulled a comfortable looking chair over to him before his knees gave out beneath him. He leant on the bed, burying his head in his arms.

He jerked up when he felt the door open. Thor popped through the door and placed Loki's backpack on the ground, winking at Tony before vanishing again. Tony stood and snatched up Loki's bag, which had his sketchbook poking out, a note attached in Loki's handwriting, '_Give to Tony when completed'_. Tony looked toward Loki's unconscious body before opening the sketchbook.

He released a soft gasp before sinking back into his chair again.

They were all of him.

Paintings, charcoal drawings, sketches, finger paintings, photographs, anything you could think of were drawn into the sketchbook and every work was of _Tony_. There was a drawing of Tony sitting in a patch of sun under a tree. Tony surprised himself by remembering that day; Loki had been scribbling madly in that very sketchbook and hid it away from Tony whenever he tried to look.

There were photos of Tony smiling and laughing and paintings of his portrait that must have been done from memory. They were beautiful. They all depicted Tony as a kind of higher being, a much more celestial version of the normal human Stark. There was even a detailed and water-coloured painting of Tony and Loki together, Loki's head lay on Tony's shoulder with his eyes closed, Tony's head nuzzling into his hair.

Tony closed the book before his heart swelled and exploded in his chest. He clutched it against his beating heart. _Loki does love me_, Tony thought._He really loves me_.

He shook his head out of his thoughts, remembering the situation before him. He placed the book carefully on the end of the bed and placed a hand on Loki's bony knee, rubbing it softly, lovingly, with the pad of his thumb.

"Oh, Loki," he breathed. "Lolo…" Tony's voice cracked. "I can't believe you did that. I mean, you did well, but Thanos is like, ten times your size! You- you lovable idiot. Or, heh, as you would say, 'you sentimental oaf'.

"Look, I really don't know how to say this. You know my reputation as a ladies man after all, but I really like you. Not like you as a friend but- maybe a little more.

"Ah, this is hard, what I'm trying to say is, I love you, Loki. I-I love you. When I first heard about you, you were nothing but Thor's little brother, which, as you pointed out, you do not like to be known as. But, after this past month, I've seen that you are so much more than that. You're so smart and intelligent, even smarter than me in some aspects, I'll admit.

"You're handsome too, have you ever looked at yourself in a mirror? You are sex on legs I swear it. All I want is to feel you against me—wait scratch that, that's too creepy. Your eyes are so damn pretty; they hypnotize me every time you look at me.

"Your sense of humour; I love it even though you've barely said twenty words to me. You make fun of people without meaning to be rude, but when you want to be rude, you're really fucking rude, which is awesome.

"I love the fact that you're so talented. I mean, you can speak four languages, play bass, acoustic and piano, you can paint and draw and you can write beautiful poetry. I saw your sketchbook, while I was surprised at the content, it is the most wonderful thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you so much.

"You're the first guy I've ever crushed on. I don't even know how that happened. Maybe we're meant to be, I think. Well, that's how I felt when I first laid eyes on you properly.

"The whole point of this is, my third time saying it; I love you, Loki. I love you so much it hurts. I can't bear to know that you are in pain; I want to make it all better for you. I want to care for you, more than I am capable of. I love you."

Tony leant over and kissed Loki softly on the left cheek. He was alarmed when Loki's eyes snapped open and he fell back into the chair. Loki smiled faintly and croaked, "I love you too, Tony."

Tony smiled sheepishly, "Yeah?"

"Yeah, I do," Loki breathed. "Of course I do…"

"But, I thought… you hated me."

Loki's eyes were widening as he came back to full consciousness. "No, Tony! No, I just- I like you, I like you a lot actually and I wasn't sure if you just wanted to be friends or… I mean, you're known as a ladies man, and as repeatedly said to me at school I am the complete opposite. I had to push you away, to keep myself from being hurt.

"I've had a boyfriend before and, well, it didn't end well. I haven't been very good at relationships since then, really. I'm snappish and crude when I'm trying to guard myself. I didn't know what your intentions were when you befriended me and I didn't know what to do. I didn't want myself to fall harder for you.

"But you saw my book, I couldn't stay away. In truth, I've been in love with you since the seventh grade, when we moved here and Thor brought you home the first day of school. I remember it clearly, you were adorable."

"And I still am, right?" Tony gave Loki a crooked smile.

Loki chuckled painfully. "No, Tony. But you're _hot_ now. And that is much better."

Tony leaned closer to Loki. "I know." Loki smiled. "What else do you love about me?"

Loki kissed him on the cheek. "You're smart," _kiss_, "kind," _kiss_, "wonderful," _kiss_, "funny," _kiss_, "_beautiful_. You are everything and more," Loki whispered against Tony's neck.

Tony couldn't hold it in any longer; he knelt next to Loki's bed and peppered tender kisses all over Loki's face, avoiding the nose splint. Loki lazily brought his right hand up behind Tony's back and squeezed lightly, so not to hurt himself. Loki turned Tony's head to look deep into his eyes before interlocking his lips with the other boy's.

They kissed compassionately, Tony muttered apologies against Loki's soft lips at every pained wheeze but feeling Tony's hot breath on his skin just made Loki more frantic for contact and pulled him closely to his body. Their hearts fluttered in unison at their first real kiss and they deepened the kiss, opening their mouths for each other's tongues to explore.

Tony hummed and then carefully extracted himself from Loki's awkward embrace. "Mmm, maybe later, Lolo, when you're not so beat up."

Loki grinned slightly and settled into the pillows, trying not to breathe too deeply for fear of hurting his sore ribs. "Yes, a bit later. So, what is the damage?"

Tony rubbed the back of his neck. "Your mom says you've dislocated your shoulder pretty badly, but she's a nurse, right? So she's fixed it up a bit. Ah- jarred ankle, bruised ribs and toes, knocked head but no concussion, twisted wrist. Possibly broken nose. It could have been worse, she said. But she'll take you to the doctors in the morning."

"So you've met my mother then?"

"Yeah," Tony said. "She seems really cool."

"Good, I'm glad," Loki replied, smiling. "And my father?"

"He wasn't there," Tony said, shaking his head. "When I was talking to Frigga, she said that he was at a business meeting."

Loki groaned and shut his eyes.

"Father issues?" Tony guessed.

Loki chuckled and looked up at Tony. "How'd you know?" He smirked.

"Have father issues of my own, actually," Tony murmured. Loki raised an eyebrow. "Well, you know he's always working and since my mom died, he hasn't been quite the same. I get mostly looked after by my uncle Jarvis though, who's like a father to me."

"It's good that you have a father figure then," Loki affirmed. "My father, well, my adoptive father, isn't around that much either."

"Adoptive?"

"Do I look like I'm related to Thor?"

"Ah, fair point. Sorry."

"No big deal, I got over it a while ago, at least mother and father told me, you know? It was better than finding out on my own. Otherwise I reckon I would have gone mad and tried to take over the world. Thor always said I have the potential to be a super villain."

Tony laughed and Loki tried to join in, but ended up grimacing.

"Are you sore, honey?"

Loki whispered an affirmative, eyes drooping. "My shoulder hurts a bit and my ribs feel like they've been mashed in. But I'll be fine, don't fret."

"You really shouldn't have fought, Lokes."

"I do what I want, you know that," Loki replied automatically. "But I think I did okay, don't you think? Got a few punches in there, did some damage. I could have finished him off if Thor didn't come thundering in like the buffoon he is. It was nice to not need him for a change."

Tony chuckled and stroked his hair back from his face. "Go to sleep, Lokes, you look exhausted. And, hey, you did a great job today."

Loki mumbled something along the lines of, "well, obviously…" and quietly fell back into unconsciousness.

Tony pressed a kiss to his forehead, feeling happier than ever right in that moment. Even in the worst circumstances, they still got together in the end.

**Second last chapter :D only the epilogue to go after this!** **Sorry about the fluffiness in this chapter, but it was going to be more angsty and dramatic in the alternate ending, so there's that! :D**


	6. Epilogue

**May as well finish this off :D**

A few days later, Loki was sitting up in his bed. Tony sat beside him, and, at Tony's insistence, fed Loki soup.

"I'm not a child, Tone," Loki complained refusing another spoonful of Frigga's chicken soup. "I can feed myself, you know," he snapped. He turned away from the pleading look on Tony's face.

Tony pouted childishly. "Aww, Lokes, you're ruining my fun."

Loki smirked and then leant forward toward the proffered spoon, closing his lips over the end and sucking the soup out, making Tony shudder with lust. "I can think of a lot more fun we could be having," Loki breathed.

Tony grinned wolfishly and their lips collided together intensely, breathing heavily against each other. Tony put down the soup on the bedside table, so they wouldn't knock it over. He ran his hands through Loki's hair, tugging at the incredibly soft strands and Loki moaned in pleasure. Loki's right hand scratched up and down Tony's back, his left trapped in its sling between them. Their tongues clashed together and they automatically moved their bodies together, Tony grinding his hips up against Loki's. They broke apart for a breather and stared into each other's eyes, leaning their foreheads together, feeling content with just looking at each other for the rest of their lives.

Nothing mattered to them anymore, not Thanos, not Amora, not any of the bullies, because they had each other, and they would always care for the other. Tony for Loki, and Loki for Tony.

They smiled into each other's faces and their lips met.

**Not too happy with the ending :S but oh well, I shall improve!**

**Thanks for reading this! :3**


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